.
November 22, 2005 - Volume 34, Issue 5
Dodge ball tournament
a success for StuCo
By Derrick Onnen and Melanie Weilert, srs.
Reporter and Editor-in-Chief
Spandex clad super heroes, potential disco revival, dodge
ball tournament show downs, and more ice cream than anyone should eat in
one sitting; all were common occurences during the Student Council sponsored
Red Ribbon Week spirit activities.
Although Red Ribbon Week is traditionally held during late October, a Spirit
Week took place during the week of November 7 through the 11 to represent
the importance of an alcohol and substance free lifestyle.
“Spirit Week was a great way to show off involvement and enthusiasm for
the activity that we were representing, which was Red Ribbon Week,” said
Chelsy Wright, jr., StuCo president. “Overall, we were really happy
with the turnout and are currently in the process of planning another Spirit
Week.”
Students, as well as staff and faculty, were encouraged to participate in
dress up days which included: Pajama and Hat Day, Career Day, Era Day, Superhero
Day, and Red Day.
Mary Schild, sr., was recognized as the ‘most spirited’ student
throughout the week, while Nicci Greve, so., was the ‘most creative’ for
her ensemble on Superhero Day.
“Superhero Day was cool, because I got to wear my underwear on the outside
of my pants. Students could not normally dress up like that and still be
accepted socially,” said Greve.
Seniors Robbie Ball, Garrett Fitzmaurice, Adam Headley, Blake Moyers, Shane
Stanley, and Jordan Young were also recognized for their creativity, as they
dressed up like the members from The Village People for their class decade
assignment on Era Day, the 1970’s.
“I am glad that I had the chance to be a part of dressing up as the members
of The Village People. I am sure that it will be the butt of many jokes to
come. I just wish that we had more opportunities to do things like this,
especially earlier on in our high school careers,” said Ball.
Photo by Jesse Lundine
I’ll take one more of those.
Quickly grabbing a couple of toppings
to go on his dessert, Brent Frederick, jr., manages to make
it
to
the front
of the line for the ice cream party
sponsored by StuCo after the dodge ball tournament.
A dodge
ball tournament was held during the afternoon of November 10 in the high
school gymnasium with various groups of students, teachers, faculty,
and organizations coming together to form several teams.
Names such as ‘Education Domination’ for teachers and faculty
and ‘The Boxers’ for the yearbook staff graced the tournament
participants.
The dodge ball teams were separated into brackets, where every team played
at least two times and were placed accordingly. Overall, ‘The Tricksters’ ended
up in third place, ‘The Briefs’ newspaper staff team brought
in second, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes team dominated the top
spot of first place.
“
The dodge ball tournament was really fun. It kind of gave students a chance
to get back at the teachers,” said Nick Crepensik, so. “I chose
to participate at the last second, but I am glad that I did because I got
back at Mrs. Shaugnessy.”
An ice cream party was held for the students as a treat directly following
the tournament. Students were dismissed from class for the day and allowed
to socialize amongst themselves in the lobby.
“I think that anytime students are excited about a program which promotes
a drug-free lifestyle and school culture, that it is important to the school
environment,” said Jason Feeback, counselor.
The overall success of the first ever dodge ball tournament sponsored by
StuCo has led the organization to tentatively schedule another similar activity
for December 1 in association with FCA. However, both StuCo and FCA plan
to hold the event during the earlier portion of the day, rather than in the
afternoon.
“The dodge ball tournament was a really entertaining thing to watch,” said
Ryan Olson, sr. “I think that we should have entire day like that,
so everyone can get a shot in. The ice cream party was really awesome, and
I hope that we can do it again soon.”
BOE prepares for bond issue changes
By Katie Hauser, jr.
Opinion Editor
Board of Education members began preparation for the steps
to achieve the project goals from the bond issue at the November 14 meeting.
Members of the ‘Vote Yes’ steering committee received certificates
of appreciation from the Board.
Kim Isbell, English instructor and publications adviser, and Ruby Crawford,
Language Arts instructor, presented the Board with Certificates of Merit
for the Challenge Award.
The 2005 state assessment scores for the eighth grade reading the tenth grade
math were recognized on November 9. These awards were presented to schools
that achieved high levels of proficiency and with high levels of minority
of low socio-economic factors.
Matt Kerr, FFA sponsor and agricultural instructor, presented a proposal
to build a greenhouse on school property for FFA and science classes. The
Board approved the proposal, and the building is planned to be finished by
the fall of 2006.
The Board authorized Robert Heigele, superintendant of schools, to meet with
the district’s insurance carrier to make sure the district meets insurance
requirements for people working on improvement projects.
Hollis and Miller was authorized to contact and solicit proposals from the
necessary professionals for projects preliminary investigations on the cost
of improvement projects using companies that the district has had contact
with before.
Custom Energy gave a presentation on their findings for energy savings. Exactly
which plan the district uses will be decided at an engineering meeting with
everyone that will be working on the improvement projects.
Heigele was approved to go to the National Convention for administrator in
San Diego, California.
Kay Bolt, elementary school principal, told the Board that 51 percent of
the third through fifth graders made an honor roll. Ninety-five percent of
parents attended parent teacher conferences at the elementary school. After
fundraising, 47 students earned the right to go on a limo ride to Pizza Hut
for lunch on November 18.The top seller would also be recognized by having
the chance to be the ‘principal for a day.’
Criss told the Board that 60.5 percent of high school parents and 58 percent
of middle school parents attended parent teacher conferences. Seventy-three
percent of the high and middle school students made an honor roll. Criss
additionally told the Board that the dodge ball tournament went over well
at the high school during Red Ribbon Week.
Heigele said that he hopes to begin working next month on major maintenance
projects for the district.
Greenhouse to diversify educational experience
By Robbie Ball, sr.
Reporter
Upon the approval of the Board of Education on November 14,
the proposal of the construction of a greenhouse was passed.
The construction of the new greenhouse will cost a total of $51,427, while
the actual structure of the building will only cost $19,685. Labor cost for
one construction worker per week is $3,200, which ultimately raised the overall
cost of construction. Hummert Incorporated was employed to carry out the
construction, while the agricultural department is in charge of preparing
the site located across the street from the technology building where the
21st Century house used to sit.
“
I think that the greenhouse will provide a lot of opportunities, not only
for our vocational and agricultural classes, but also our science classes,” said
K.B. Criss, high school principal. “It will expand upon our current
curriculum.
Photo by Craig Smith
And the award goes to...
Kim Isbell, English instructor and publications
adviser, and Ruby Crawford, language arts instructor, accept the
Challenge
Award for the high and middle
schools on November 9 at a banquet held by the Confidence
in Kansas Public
Education Task Force.
Additional hands-on learning experiences will result from the
construction of the greenhouse, as well as the opportunity to provide financial
assistance
to the agricultural program through plant sales.
“
The greenhouse will diversify the agriculture department, allowing more opportunities
for the students to excel in areas of horticulture and floriculture science,” said
Matt Kerr, FFA sponsor and agriculture instructor.
“
I do not have enough window space in my room, so students had to take their
projects home where there was not sufficient amount of sunlight sometimes,” said
Teri Shaughnessy, science instructor. “This greenhouse will help us
to eliminate factors such as those.”
The project is expected to begin in the spring of next year, while completion
is expected by the fall.
